Forbidden Fruit
by TardisInWonderland
Summary: Hades and Persephone AU For those not familiar with the myth, basically Hades falls in love with the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, due to a badly misfired arrow, and kidnaps her. Also, there are about ten thousand versions of this myth and they all have different details, so I squashed together about three of the most popular ones.


_Fandom, you've driven me to smut. I really and truly apologize for this because it's probably bad._

* * *

Regina walked among the people of Cyprus, wrapped in a hooded cloak, observing what she could. Being a goddess was entertaining for a time, but it was necessary to walk with the mortals every now and then… Things became boring far too often.

There was a man to her left who was having an affair with his neighbor. Pointless.

There was a woman on her right who was hopelessly in love and heading to Regina's temple. She'd have to pay her a visit later on.

There was a woman grieving on the temple steps. Her lover had recently died, and she wanted relief from the pain. Regina's heart cracked a little at the sight, but she forced herself to walk on.

The mortal world provided many nagging problems and little real interest. There was no point in taking mortal lovers, not if they were all going to be like the last one…

But they couldn't be. No one could ever be like the last one, never again.

At the edge of the city, Regina turned down the path that led to the cliffs, where her dear love's ashes had been scattered. That was the trouble with mortals and their world- they were all too frail. She laid a rose down at the cliff side, breathed a deep sigh, and turned to go back to her decidedly non-mortal home.

It was time to leave the mortals on their own for a while.

It was time to cause some mischief among the gods… and Sydney could help her.

X

Belle lay on her back in a field of tall grass, staring up at the sky. There were flowers growing all around, and the sweet perfume of spring washed over her in waves. The sun shone high in the sky, the warm rays caressing her skin, and her eyes fluttered closed slowly as she slipped into sleep.

"Belle!"

She jolted awake, cringing as she sat up. The grass had nearly hidden her from view while she lay on the ground, and no doubt her mother would be extremely frightened by going even a short time without her.

"Hello, mother," she waved, putting on her brightest smile.

"Oh, sweetheart!" her mother put a hand to her heart in relief. "I thought something might have happened to you."

"I'm right where you left me mother… just like always." Belle's smile faded a little, but only a _little_, and her mother didn't seem to notice.

"Well, let's get home, shall we? My work in the mortal world is done for today." The woman beckoned and turned to walk away.

"Yes, mother…" Belle looked back at the open sky, the wide fields around her. All she had to do was run… but not today. She turned and followed her mother back to their home.

X

Rumpelstiltskin, the god of the Underworld, watched this scene with interest in his great mirror. The girl fascinated him- her thirst for knowledge, her longing for adventure. He watched her gazing out at the horizon at every sunrise and sunset with a yearning that he'd never seen before. She wanted to go out, to walk among mortals as the other gods did, but her mother kept her on an extremely tight rope, and with good cause. Belle was beautiful enough that any man who saw her would be smitten.

He cringed at the thought as his fingers found the shards of a broken arrow lying on the ground beside him.

He knew that this most recent setback was the effects of that cursed arrow, but it didn't make this any easier. Rumpelstiltskin was lonely, and the heart that had once felt cold and dead now ached for companionship even more so than it ever had. The Underworld was a dismal place, with only spirits for company, and spirits only ever talked of past regrets.

It was his own fault, really. He was too fond of watching those who walked in the world above, and he just happened to be looking in on young Belle when that arrow had struck him. Some might say that he looked in on her _too_ often. So often that he was already in love with her- he had been for a long while. The arrow only intensified his emotions.

There was no point in acting on his desires. She was young and beautiful, and she wouldn't want anyone like him, old and scaled and living in the darkness. Belle was a child of the light, and he was the ruler of the Underworld.

No.

With a sigh, he snapped his fingers and the mirror faded to black.

Belle was interesting and cheerful, and even though he had never spoken to her, she stirred something in him that felt almost human. If the desire for her had been a spark before, ever since the goddess of love had decided that she would intervene, it had flared to a roaring fire, consuming and disorienting. That was one day ago, and already it was driving him mad.

He had to see her, and soon, or he would expire.

No, not just to see her. He needed to have her, to hold her in his arms, to know that she would be his and his alone. But the only way to do that…  
Rumpelstiltskin sighed, throwing on a dark cloak. A trip to the world above was in order, it seemed, but first… first a trip to somewhere a little_higher_ above.

X

"No."

"But why-"

"Absolutely not!" Maura, the goddess of the harvest, slammed her hand down on the polished white table. Olympus was not a happy place today- it never was when discussing her daughter's prospects for marriage.

"I don't understand why it's such a problem," James shook his head, thankful his wife was not present. "He may be the god of the dead, but he is my brother, and he would treat her well."

"If she goes down there the she'll never come back!" She cried. Maura was loving, but possessive of her daughter almost to the point of hysterics. "Belle is my life. I've raised her from a tiny child-"

"And now it's time for the child to become a woman," James said, determined to have a say. "She's my daughter, too."

"Your daughter?" Maura scoffed, laughing coldly. "You may have caused her birth, but you have done _nothing_ for her that entitles you to the rights of a father! I raised her- not you!"

"And you refuse to raise her any farther than the age of ten!" The crash of thunder that punctuated his remark was enough to silence even Maura. "Like it or not, Belle is a woman now. You have to let her grow, and she can't do that if you're beside her, stifling her every step of the way."

"I've allowed for suitors," Maura protested, indignant.

"And you've turned all of them away.

"Mortals," Maura shrugged. It wasn't her fault that they'd caught a glimpse of her daughter and fallen madly in love. They could blame Regina for that- mortals simply did not marry gods. It never worked out well.

"Including the last demigod- what's his name-"

"That was not my fault! He made advances beyond his rights-"

"I know what he did; I was there," he sighed, holding up a hand to stop further arguing. "And I understand that, but it wouldn't be nearly as difficult if you weren't so determined to keep her as your little girl in a white dress."

"She is my little girl," the goddess mumbled. James shook his head slowly, pursing his lips. He gestured to a bowl of water on the table in front of them, and an image appeared.

A young woman sat among the ruins of an ancient temple, surrounded by hundreds of roses whose vines clung to the fallen pillars and stonework. Her hair was long and dark, curling in waves down to her hips, and her long, white dress hugged the curves of her hips from where it was cinched at her waist. She was beautiful- she was the personification of life warmth, of beauty and vibrancy.

And she was not a child any longer.

"Look at her," James said, glancing over at Maura. Her eyes glazed over with tears as she watched the scene unfold in the water. "You blinked and allowed twenty years to pass, and she may still be a child in your eyes, but to the rest of the world she is a bird trapped in a cage… and it's time for her to fly."  
Maura breathed deeply, brushing a hand across her eyes.

Rather than respond, she stood and left the room.

James sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead. If it were up to him, he would consent to the marriage in a split second, but Maura didn't know his brother like he did. If Rumpelstiltskin wanted to, he could simply have _taken_ Belle. Coming to her mother was a sign of respect, and he could see something in him… Yes, something had looked entirely different about the god of the Underworld. He was conniving and manipulative, never straightforward with anyone, but when he asked for her hand… he looked vulnerable.

If they didn't play this very carefully, it could be the downfall of them all.

X

Since her mother was meeting with James, Belle had taken this opportunity to slip away to her favorite spot, an abandoned temple in the forest, now collapsed and in ruins. No one knew why it was abandoned, but she liked how peaceful it felt. Here, the sun broke through the trees and the sky was visible, and the piles of rubble made a nice change of scenery, providing plenty of hiding spots in cast she wanted to escape from the world for a while.

The white marble rubble that had once been the temple was cracked and the pillars had toppled to the side, but thanks to Belle's nurturing the entire area was covered in brilliant pink roses. They climbed the larger chunks of fallen rubble and the bushes gathered in masses where the roots worked their way through the cracked stone slabs that might have once been a floor.

She felt connected to everything here, sometimes even wishing she could take some of the scrolls from Emma's library to read, but the library on Olympus was under strict observation and mortal libraries were out of the question. Her mother wouldn't even let her go into the city.  
Belle reached out to a single, unopened rose bud. A late bloomer, she thought, just like her. Maura loved her, but even a mother's love couldn't keep her child from growing. Her contact with people was limited to the gods on Olympus, and sometimes the demigods or the nymphs, but no one mortal, and most of the former were her family.

Belle silently urged the rose in her hand to bloom, and the petals stretched out slowly, opening up to the sun.

"The roses are beautiful."

She jumped and turned to where the voice came from. She hadn't heard anyone enter the ruins- no stirring of rocks, no rustling of leaves. The man behind her was standing, and she slowly looked upwards from the first view of his black shoes towards his face.

And gasped.

The man before her stood cloaked in entirely black, robes rippling around him like water. His features and form were not unpleasant, but his skin was strange, with tiny green-gold scales that gleamed in the sun. Large, uncertain blue eyes looked down at her.

"You're- you're-" she stuttered uncontrollably, shuffling away and scrambling to her feet. She refused to run out of stubbornness alone, but backed away slowly.

"Please," he reached out and grabbed her hand. Belle froze under his touch, eyes wide. "I will not harm you."

"But you're the lord of the Underworld," she shook her head slowly, meaning to draw away from him, but his grip tightened.

"I swear on my kingdom that I mean you no harm." The look in his eyes was so hopeful, so _pleading_, that Belle believed him, relaxing by a tiny fraction. "What has your mother been telling you about me?" His eyes scanned her features, a peculiar expression of curiosity on his face.

"She says you're dangerous." Belle bit her lip, casting her eyes down. He stepped a little closer to her. Every instinct in his body screamed for him to draw her close and kiss her senseless, to let his hands roam over every curve of her body, to memorize her form with more than his eyes, but he refrained. If he could stand being apart from her for so long, surely he could stand being near her…

But it wasn't near enough.

Very slowly, so as not to alarm her, Rumpelstiltskin brought her hand to his lips, pressing a tender kiss to her palm. Her mouth dropped open in a very tiny "o," and she let out a soft sigh. He picked a rose from one of the nearby vines, holding it gently between his fingers. He offered her the flower in his hand, the color of the bloom changing before her eyes from a soft pink to dark red.

"Do I look dangerous to you?" His eyes flicked upwards from the rose to her face. Belle swallowed hard and shook her head, gingerly accepting the flower. He looked almost… _afraid_, not dangerous.

"How do you know me? What do you want?" Her fear slowly faded into curiosity, even intrigue, as he stepped closer still. His free hand reached forward the short distance between them to twirl a strand of her hair around his finger, the touch strangely tender for someone who she thought would be so cold.

"How could I not know you?" the Dark One asked, his expression shifting into disbelief. "I like to watch the world above, and you are one of the brightest parts of it, but your mother keeps you locked away- safe from the world but trapped from what you want most."

"What makes you think you know what I want?" Belle asked, twisting out of his grasp suddenly and turning her back to him. Many people had tried to tell her that they knew what she wanted, and all of them were wrong. Some said love, some said power, some said marriage or to settle down, but they didn't know her at all.

A hand ghosted down her bare arm, the touch sending shivers down her spine. No one ever touched her like that- hesitantly, reverently. The god of the Underworld did her more courtesy than any of the dozen admirers that her mother had sent away with the fear of Olympus in them.  
Mortals, all but the last, and the last had been the worst.

"You want your freedom," Rumpelstiltskin whispered. Belle's expression changed abruptly, though he couldn't see it. "You're chained to Mount Olympus, dearie. Don't you want a little more?"

"Prometheus is chained," Belle muttered, attempting to ignore the fluttering in her stomach that she was sure should not be happening. "I am a bird in a gilded cage." She turned her head to the side slowly, trying to catch a glimpse of Rumpelstiltskin. He was still standing immediately behind her, so close that she could feel his breath.

"Then allow me to set you free."

Belle wheeled around, bent on asking him exactly what he was talking about, when he captured her mouth with his own. Every single rational part of her being told her to run, but the rest of her knew that her knees wouldn't support her if she did. He gently pulled her to him, exploring her mouth and moving to place feather light kisses down her neck.

In hindsight, she wouldn't know how, but her reason returned to her then, and Belle pulled away, breathing heavily.  
Rumpelstiltskin gazed at her, looking dejected and devastated, like he might fall apart any second. Belle hadn't thought the Dark One capable of emotion- of _love_- but it was true that she'd never actually met him, and he certainly didn't seem like the god of the Underworld that she'd envisioned.

"Belle!"

Oh, no.

She turned in the direction of her mother's cry- how had she found her?! Maura didn't know about this spot. There was no way... but the voice broke through the trees again, and Belle knew that it had to be her mother.

"Where are you, flower?!"

She looked back towards where Rumpelstiltskin had been standing, only to find that he had disappeared. For a moment, she thought she'd imagined everything, but winced as a thorn from the rose in her hand pierced her skin. Looking down, she saw that the flower was not pink, but a deep red. Red as blood. She glanced at her palm and saw a drop of blood welling up where a thorn had pierced the skin.

"Belle!" She dropped the flower to the ground in surprise, clutching her bleeding hand.

"I'm here!"

Belle ran back through the trees towards her mother.

X

The Dark One crumpled into his throne, alone in the Underworld once more. In the last fleeting moment before he'd returned, Belle had looked positively the most beautiful creature in the universe. Her face was flushed, her lips red and swollen from kissing, breathing heavily and eyes dark with the kind of innocent affection that made him feel all the worse… she had no idea the things she could do to a man.

To see her was to love her, and in that moment he thought her effect might be more potent than even Regina's could be. No woman had ever made him feel this way before, and being near her only made it worse.

This could not go on.

If her mother refused to let her marry, then he would have to take matters into his own hands, and soon.

X

One day later, Belle awoke in darkness.  
She was in a cave somewhere, perhaps, but lying on something soft. She sat up, dizzy and disoriented, and candles flared all around her. She_was_ in a cave, or something that looked like a cave.

The room was furnished in a grand style, with a soft bed and dark-colored draping all around the room, covering most of the bare rock walls. Black candelabras provided plenty o light to see by, but there were no windows… Was she underground? There was a pitcher of water on a nearby table, along with a silver platter on which was a strange-looking fruit. It was dark red and had been cracked open with a knife, the juice seeping out onto the platter and seeds spilled onto the table and floor.

The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in the meadow, and then… nothing. She woke up here. Rather than sit and wait on someone to find her, she decided to get up and explore. A curtain in the corner covered the entrance, and when she pulled it back Belle saw nothing but a long, dark hallway.

The candles seemed to know that she was there, flickering to life when she passed like the ones on Mount Olympus… A thought came to her suddenly, and she picked up speed until she was running down the hallway, frantic.

Underground.

The self-lighting candles.

Her visitor the day before.

The hallway opened up into a cavernous area dripping with stalactites. Shadowy forms slipped silently passed her, seeming to pay her no mind. A few glanced her way, confused, but their looks were only fleeting.

A huge river was in the distance, black waters churning, and a single boat went across it, back and forth.

Belle felt her throat closing in panic.

She was in the Underworld.

Head spinning and heart pounding, she walked closer to the Styx. As soon as she was within an earshot, Belle called out to the ferryman, who stopped and looked her way. He squinted for a moment, as if trying to figure out who was talking to him, but then shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry, my lady, but I can't take you across. Strict orders."

"Orders?" Belle asked, brow furrowing. "Orders from who?"

But the ferryman simply went on rowing, going about his job of transporting souls. She would have to work this out for herself, logically. She wasn't dead, that was for sure, because she hadn't entered by crossing the Styx… so what was happening? No living being could ever enter the Underworld, not without the consent of its ruler. She'd been brought here for a reason, and only the Dark One would be able to tell her why.

The problem was how to find him.

As much as she told herself not to panic, she felt tears welling up in her eyes. Belle's entire life had been spent above ground, in the light and the sun and the open sky, and this was darker and more enclosed than she'd ever thought possible. Even though the roof of the cavern was so high that she couldn't see the top, knowing it was present was enough to make her uneasy.

Well, Belle thought, swallowing heavily, wherever Rumpelstiltskin was it couldn't be in the direction leading _out_ of the Underworld. She turned away from the Styx and, much to her dismay, walked into the deeper recesses of the land of the dead. Ignoring the passing souls was nearly impossible, especially when they occasionally attempted to pass through her.

She didn't know where she was going, but that was alright for now. It wasn't out, and any other direction didn't matter to her. The goal was to find the Dark One, and she was almost positive that if he would come to her if she didn't find him first.

As she walked, she fought back tears, but after realizing that there was no one here to hear her, she let them fall. At home, Belle would have held them back for the sake of her mother's worry, but there was no use in that now. Finally, when she was too tired to continue walking, she turned a corner and sank to the ground against the nearest wall, closing her eyes.

"Belle?"

X

Rumpelstiltskin had no clue why his little Belle (not his, not yet, he reminded himself) had taken so long to find her way to the main receiving hall of the Underworld, but here she was, looking weary and distressed. Walking straight forward from the Styx would have taken her there in no time. He would have to make sure to tell the passages where to take her until she learned her way around.

She looked up from her place on the ground, eyes red and tears running down her face. The view from the large black throne made her seem tiny, but he was standing almost beside her in moments, simply glad to have her awake and near him once more.

"Rumpelstiltskin?" Belle choked on his name, standing and wiping her eyes. "What- how- why am I here?"

"I couldn't be without you," he walked towards her slowly, but she backed away, stopping only when she was pressed against the wall.

"_Without me_?" Her eyes widened with fear. "You've met me once-"

"But I've watched you for years. I love you, Belle," Rumpelstiltskin resisted the urge to reach out to her. It would likely not be well-received. "We can be together here-"

"So you stole me away, is that it? You said you _understood_ and- and I _believed _you!" she shouted, tears still falling.

"I do-" he began, but Belle wasn't finished.

"Do you have _any idea_ what you've done?! You've taken me from one prison and locked me in another! You took me away from the sun and the light and my mother- she'll die of worry!"

"Belle, my darling-"

"No!" she cried, voice echoing in the caverns, "I'm not yours, and I never will be! If you loved me at all you would let me go home!" Every word was like a dagger in his heart.

She ran back through the twisting passages towards her room (or so Rumpelstiltskin directed), distraught and clearly not willing to see him any time soon. Seeing her hurt was almost worse than not being around her… almost. Every time he saw her, he remembered how she looked after their kiss, how much she had seemed to _want_ him, even after she broke their kiss… but not now.

Perhaps he'd gone about this the wrong way.

X

Belle wouldn't come out of her room for days. She wouldn't eat- even if it weren't for the stories about the food of the Underworld, she wouldn't have had the appetite. She barely slept. The only thing that she did, truly, was worry. She worried for her mother and her home, she worried what might happen if she stayed here for too long. She cried every night and she tried to bargain for her release, praying to someone, anyone, for help at any price.

She was beginning to think that no one could hear her from here.

When in the Underworld, she need only wish for something and it would be given to her, but the only wish she had was to be home, in the light, in the sun  
It was so cold here. Her white summer dress didn't afford much warmth, and the dead don't care if it happens to be cold. She was wasting away, she could tell. It was the sunlight.

Rumpelstiltskin finally came to her on the third day of her imprisonment. She did not speak when he opened the door, or when he came to stand beside her, or when he touched her arm gently and let his hand linger there.

"You're cold," he sounded worried, but she wouldn't let that sway her. This man was her _abductor_.

"It's cold here," Belle shrugged, unable to keep her voice from wavering. "I suppose the dead don't care much for warmth."

"Here," Rumpelstiltskin unclasped his heavy black cloak and draped it around her shoulders. It smelled of a peculiar spice that she couldn't name, and it was warm from his body heat. Strange, that one so reptilian in appearance could seem so human in all other mannerisms.

"Thank you," Belle said grudgingly.

"Belle, are you… are you happy here?"

"No," she sounded as if it should be obvious. "How could I be happy here? You've taken me from all that I love." Rumpelstiltskin breathed deeply, taking her hands in his.

"Come with me." He pulled her from her bed and down the hallway, the black cloak swirling out behind her.

The Underworld was the largest of all three realms, because while the world of the living shrinks, the world of the dead can only grow. Rumpelstiltskin led her through twisting passageways and down long, winding staircases until Belle wasn't sure that he even knew where he was going any longer, but soon they arrived at the end of a passageway. There was light coming from the other end. A flicker of hope burned in her chest.

"Is this-"

"No." The hope died. "These are the Elysian Fields. The very best, bravest souls come here to rest. It's only loosely related to this realm, but they do share a doorway, and it's the only place that you'll find sunshine."

Belle slowly took a step forward. The sunlight certainly seemed real, and when the rays touched her skin it was warm and pleasant. She pushed back the cloak from her arms, but did not take it off, not yet. The tall grass waved in the breeze around her, and as she tilted her face to the sun she felt well enough to smile. There were fruit trees only a few feet off, and she could smell the sharp tang of the citrus. Being a goddess meant that not eating wouldn't kill her, but the scent made her mouth water.

Were these fields a part of the Underworld, she wondered? Best not take the chance.

"Return by nightfall," Rumpelstiltskin said, and he was gone before she could turn to thank him.

The sunlight was refreshing, and the shadows here looked less like spirits and more like true people, though it was still true that none of them acknowledged her presence. Belle shed the cloak by the entrance and spent the rest of the day in the fields, soaking up the sunlight and fresh air, but when the light began to fade she turned back regretfully. Who knows what might happen if she stayed in Elysium too long?

Rumpelstiltskin had taken her against her will, and she would never forgive him for that, but she didn't believe that he meant to harm her. Ever since they met he had shown her naught but kindness, regardless of his fearsome reputation on Olympus. His actions contradicted themselves in a thousand ways.

On her way out, Belle picked up the black cloak and draped it around her shoulders, her only guard against the chill of the Underworld.

X

"Where is she?!" Maura's voice boomed through Olympus, louder than James on the worst of days. Killian cringed, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Seems like she's in a bad mood. Good luck with that," he snickered. James shot him a very pointed look before attempting to settle down Maura.

"Maura, you need to stay calm-"

"How am I to remain _calm_ when my daughter has disappeared?!" She was clearly distraught.

"We'll find her- don't worry." Snow, ever patient, put an arm around Maura's shoulders gently. "I'm sure she just went off somewhere exploring. You said she does that sometimes, right?"

"But she always comes back when I call her!"

"She's a woman, not a dog," Killian muttered. Maura shot him a glare, but turned back to James almost immediately.

"She's only a girl!" she pleaded. "Please, you must help me find her." The look on her face was so pure, so full of concern and hope that James reluctantly signed and nodded his agreement. Maura jumped in excitement, eyes wide.

"Thank you, thank you!" James waved a hand dismissively.

"But make no mistake- _after_ we find her we're all going to sit and have a long family discussion about this."

X

Belle went back to Elysium the next day, and the day after that, relishing the sunlight and the little bit of the earth beneath her feet. However, she wasn't inclined to spend her days doing nothing but lounging around. Even when her mother would leave her during the days, she would explore whatever area she was in, looking under rocks, climbing trees, and generally doing whatever could keep her mind away from the fact that she didn't have any company. Sometimes, when she had leave from Maura, Belle would stay at the library on Mount Olympus and read for the day, but those times were few and far between.

The Underworld was no different. One could only go so far into Elysium before getting the strangest urge to run back to the entrance (Belle presumed that it had something to do with being alive in the land of the dead), and she wasn't content to stay in a place that had already been completely explored for longer than necessary. She would stay in Elysium long enough to satisfy her craving for sunlight, and then wander the passages of the Underworld until she needed to sleep, looking for new sights and secret places. Rumpelstiltskin had given her the black cloak as a gift, and though she never wore it in Elysium, it was a comfort against the cold and the dark in the winding passages and cavernous spaces of the Underworld.

There was a waterfall down one passage that ran down a stream into a pool of tears. Lilies grew around the pool, and the water was so clear that you could see all the way to the bottom. Belle didn't stay there long, though- the soft sobbing sounds of the long dead and the grieving could always be heard, and it gave her the most disturbing kind of chill.

Down another passage she found the Asphodel Fields, a gray, shadowy area where all the souls of those who were not especially good or bad came to rest. No one there paid her much mind, not any more so than the souls around the river Styx. She found out quickly that it was nearly impossible to tell day from night here by lighting- you could only tell from places like Asphodel and Elysium, and by the various water clocks.

The ferryman on the Styx would sometimes stop for a conversation, but no longer than a few moments. The souls were lining up, he would say. There was no time to stop, and he had strict orders from the Dark One not to let her into the boat or even attempt to ferry her to the other side. Belle couldn't find it in her heart to be angry with him- in his place, she would be afraid of Rumpelstiltskin, too.

She discovered the great guardian of the Underworld, the Dark One's three-headed dog. Though her first impression had been that it was about to eat her alive, Belle found out that Cerberus was simply longing for company. He was friendly, he didn't mind if Belle rambled on to him about her mother and Olympus, and besides the ferryman Dark One himself Cerberus was the only resident of the Underworld that acknowledged her existence.

She wondered sometimes if Cerberus' loneliness was a reflection of his master's temperament. Sometimes she would catch the Dark One sitting alone, staring blankly into his large mirror at different people in the world above for hours on end. He seemed so sad, looking out at a world that he could never be a part of.  
Over the next week, the sharp pain for home and her mother dimmed into a blunt ache, something that she could be distracted from. As much as it pained her to put her mother and her family aside, it pained her more to think of them often. If she kept it up it would drive her mad, so she simply tried not to think of them except when the ache was too strong.

Every night, just before she slept, Rumpelstiltskin would come to talk to her in her room.

Sometimes she had nothing new to tell, and other days she had a thousand questions to ask. He would answer every inquiry with the utmost patience, and sometimes would even smile at her. He never made any advances, never even _touched_ her without her consent, though she could see something burning behind his eyes that said he wanted to.

Before he left her to sleep, he would kiss her palm tenderly and ask her the same question.

"Are you happy here, Belle?"

And every night her answer was the same.

"Will you ever let me go?"

And every night he left her without an answer.

Rumpelstiltskin was good to her, and if she had come here under her own free will she might have been a very happy person, indeed, but… it did not change the fact that he would not let her go. He would come to her with books and scrolls, read to her and talk to her of far-off lands, but he would not give her the freedom she wanted so much. Every action spoke of gentleness and love, but how could he expect her to return his affection when she was here against her will?  
She wanted to love him. The more time Belle spent with him, the more she wanted it, but she feared that it could never be so long as she was his prisoner. A bird in a gilded cage is still in a cage, and while he kept her prisoner she could not find it in her heart to wholly return his love.

The fruit still sat on the table in her room, untouched but perfectly preserved.

One night, the night that marked a month of her stay in the Underworld, Belle started to cry as he left her room, still feeling the tingling sensation of his lips upon her palm. She sat on the edge of the bed, hoping he wouldn't hear her stifled hiccup, but his ears were sharp, and he turned to her with an expression of utmost pity.

"Belle, my love-" Rumpelstiltskin rushed back over, kneeling on one knee in front of her and taking both her hands in his. "What's the matter? Please." He reached upwards with one hand to brush the tears from her cheeks.

"I don't understand," Belle whispered. "How can you be so kind and loving, but you still hold me against my will?!"

"I love you, Belle," Rumpelstiltskin squeezed his eyes shut, gripping her hands just a tiny bit tighter.

"I want to believe you!" she was all but screaming now, tearing her hands out of his grasp to cover her face. "But I can't, not while you insist on keeping me prisoner here!"

"I would let you be free in an instant if it would stop your tears," he pleaded, "but if you leave me now then you will _never come back_!" Belle dropped her hands, surprised. Her eyes stung from the salty tears, but she forced herself not to close them.

"You would let me go?"

"They would take you away from me if I did," he hung his head dejectedly. "You are a single flicker of light in an ocean of darkness, my Belle, and I cannot bear to be without you."

"Not even for a day? An hour?" Just a small amount of time would be more than enough!

"You would leave forever if I let you go." His voice cracked as he spoke, with regret or pity or some other emotion that Belle couldn't name. "James and his familiars would make sure you never set food near me again, and even if they didn't… you wouldn't come back."

"Of course I would, you _fool_!" she cried, the words harsher than she meant them to be. Rumpelstiltskin looked up sharply. "I have no reason not to come back if you'll only _let me go_- you're kind and gentle and intelligent and one of the wisest people I know, and _I love you_!"

Belle let out a ragged breath, barely aware of what she'd said before Rumpelstiltskin had her in his arms, ravishing her mouth with a passion she hadn't seen in him before. She was breathless and dizzy by the time he finally broke their kiss.

"Say it again," he whispered, moving to place a trail of searing kisses along her collarbone.

"I love you," Belle's head was swimming, but that was the one coherent thought she could form. "I love you, I _love_ you."

He pulled her closer until she was sitting in his lap, his hands tracing every contour of her body, memorizing her form with his fingers, cupping her breasts and caressing her hips through the fabric of her dress. He seemed to be utterly unable to stop kissing her, as if making up for all the lost time and all the restraint that he'd shown over the past weeks, but he managed to regain his composure long enough to say the one thing he had wanted to say for so long.

"Marry me, Belle," he asked, blue eyes pleading. "If you love me, be my wife."

"Yes."

This time, it was Belle who initiated the kiss, learning quickly from her lover's low moans just how responsive he was to her touch. She teased his lower lip with her teeth and wound her fingers through his hair while one of his hands moved to ease the strap of her dress off her shoulder and the other loosened the ties at her waist. Some part of her- the scared, virginal little girl that used to sleep in meadows and pick flowers in fields all day- said to fight this, to run away and hide and protect herself. Another part- the part that was wholly and truly in love with Rumpelstiltskin- said to give herself over to the tugging of desire, break the binds of a childhood long gone, and let herself become the woman she'd been forced away from for so long.

With only a little urging the dress slid off and fell to the floor in a pool of white fabric. Rumpelstiltskin stopped all movement at almost the same moment. Something about the hunger in his gaze made Belle look down and wrap her arms around herself, blushing, but he lifted her chin to look in her eyes, smiling.

"You are _beautiful_." He brushed a lock of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She reached out to move away the fabric that covered him, but he stopped her with a hand over hers, breaking their kiss. "You don't want to see me, my darling."

"I do." She moved his hand away gently, slowly pulling back the black fabric to reveal his scaled skin. The gold-green hue had a strange sort of beauty to it, and though he was smaller she could feel the hidden strength in the muscles of his chest. Though scaled, his skin was surprisingly soft and warm to the touch. She placed a gentle kiss over his heart before looking up at him with a bittersweet little smile. "Beautiful."

He shook his head in disbelief and tackled her to the sheets, Heat rose in her cheeks from the feeling of him hard against her hip, but he didn't seem to mind her innocence. On the contrary, he seemed to _welcome_ it. He kissed her stomach, her breasts, kneading the soft flesh with one hand while the other wandered lower to tease her folds. She gasped as his fingers brushed against her clit, and he mumbled against her skin, sucking softly at the side of her throat.

"So ready for me, love. I'll never understand…"

She bit back an ungodly moan as his fingers slipped inside her, bucking her hips forward in an unsteady rhythm. Rumpelstiltskin gave a low chuckle- she might have smacked him if he hadn't distracted her, worrying a nipple with his thumb and whispering in her ear, lips close enough that she could feel his breath.

"My Belle, my darling, beautiful _love_…"

She saw stars; crying out softly and clinging to the blankets with both hands, and when she opened her eyes he was surprised at how dark they were. Dark and _wanting_. Her breathing slowed only a little before she pulled him down on top of her for a hungry kiss.

"I love you," she whispered, breathless, "Make me your wife, Rumpelstiltskin."

No words were ever more welcome.

They explored each other throughout the night, his tender touches banishing all other thoughts from her mind, and Belle's hesitant, clumsy embraces well-received and accepted to no end. And after the pain came and went- and there _was_ pain, and she wasn't so naïve as to not expect the pain- Belle thought it worth it to lie in her love's embrace for the rest of the night and part of the day, safe and secure.

And, for the first time since she entered the Underworld, naked and drowsy and wrapped in Rumpelstiltskin's arms, she no longer felt cold.

X

She awoke sometime during the next day to Rumpelstiltskin stroking her hair softly.

"Hello," he murmured.

"Hello." Belle winced against her will at the dull pain between her legs. It flared when she moved, and as much as she wanted to simply go back to sleep and forget it, that wasn't going to make things any simpler.

"I'm sorry." Rumpelstiltskin looked as though he was in more pain than she was. Belle shook her head, dismissing the notion.

"I wouldn't change it."

It took far longer than expected for her to get around to dressing, as he kept distracting her with very purposeful caresses and lingering kisses, but she finally picked up the pile of white fabric from the floor where it lay… and looked at it with new eyes. What had once been a summer dress was now in tatters, probably from wandering around in it for a month with nothing else to change into. There was a large rip in the fabric, presumably from where she had tripped over it the previous night, and the fabric was nearly so thin you could see through it.

Biting her lip, Belle folded the battered cloth carefully and sat in on the small table. Then, she opened the box at the foot of the bed and pulled out crimson dress, slipping it over her head. The fabric was warm and soft, just like Rumpelstiltskin's cloak, and rather than a sleeveless summer dress it was a long sleeved robe, like something fit for Snow or Abigail, one of the major figures on Olympus.

She wasn't a child in a white summer dress any longer.

Rumpelstiltskin wrapped his arms around her from behind, tugging her close to him and whispering against her hair. She hadn't realized that he'd even dressed himself.

"You are my queen… and now you look the part." He opened his mouth to speak again, but stopped suddenly, brow furrowed in confusion. "Someone's here."

His hands lingered on her for a moment longer, but he quickly walked out of her room and down the hall. How did he know? Cinching a sash around her waist, Belle followed him silently down the passage. She stayed hidden around a corner at the end, listening to the conversation.

"The earth is dying from her mother's grief!"

She knew that voice. It was Blue- the messenger, the goddess of travelers and pathways. But wait… the earth was _dying_?

"The world is so cold that ice falls from the sky, and the ground is white and barren instead of green. The plants are freezing to death and so are the people, and Maura will do nothing for grieving over Belle." The words landed in her stomach like a rock.

"Why are you coming to me?" Rumpelstiltskin's tone was even, but she knew he was purposefully trying to sound disinterested.

"Between Maura, Killian, and James, the entirety of the earth, sea, and sky have been searched. She's nowhere. This is the only place left." Blue spoke softly, trying to be gentle, but Rumpelstiltskin was having none of it.

"You must have missed a spot."

"We didn't." Silence followed, the room so quiet that Belle didn't dare to breathe for fear of being heard. She stayed as still as a statue, hoping that they wouldn't move to an angle allowing them to see her.

"What makes you think she wants to go back?" Rumpelstiltskin asked. Belle was slightly annoyed at this- he knew she wanted to go back! It was his fear getting in the way.

"It's not about what she wants!" Blue snapped. This time, Belle drew back as if she'd been slapped. "The earth will perish if she stays here- she has no choice-"

"No choice?" Belle stepped forward from the shadows, incredulous. Blue and Rumpelstiltskin turned towards her quickly, shock written plain on their faces. "I'll stay or I'll go, but no one decides my fate but me." She turned and walked quickly back down the hallway, dress fanning out behind her and Rumpelstiltskin hot on her heels. She had a plan forming, and it was risky... but it might be her only chance. He didn't catch up to her until she was back at her bedroom, a few seeds of the strange fruit in her hand.

"Belle, I-"

"No," she placed a finger against his lips to silence him. "No, this time you're going to listen to me." Belle paused for a moment, waiting for his response, and he finally nodded. "I love you, but I can't let the earth and my mother die because of what you did. So…" Belle looked down at the fruit in her hand. Her actions were about to seal her fate forever… but it was time for that. It was time to take charge of her own life and love, to be a woman rather than a small girl hiding in her mother's skirts.

"What's the name of this fruit?" She was curious, having seen it every day since her arrival.

"It's called a pomegranate." He spoke softly, as if trying to heal her wounds with words alone, but there was nothing he could say. Belle nodded once, took a breath and dropped the six red seeds into her open mouth, swallowing before she could change her mind.  
Rumpelstiltskin looked at her like she was insane. Belle had only one response.

"We're going to make a deal."

X

Blue sent word to Olympus that Belle and Rumpelstiltskin were coming from the Underworld in a day's time. On Belle's request, they were officially married that night. The ferryman preformed the ceremony and Cerberus was the witness.

The next morning, Belle brushed her hair and pinned it up in a crown of braids around her head, donned the black cloak, and met Blue and Rumpelstiltskin on the banks of the Styx. No one made a motion to do anything, so Belle was the first to take a step forward.

"Let's go."

It took a surprisingly shorter amount of time than one might think to travel from the gateway of the Underworld to the above lands, but perhaps that was because they were escorted by the Dark One himself. As the first rays of sunshine appeared, Belle fought the urge to run towards the exit. Running away from Rumpelstiltskin wouldn't look good at this point, but she did so want to see the sunshine again- the real sunshine, not the sun in Elysium, the one from the world she knew.

In the end she simply grabbed Rumpelstiltskin's hand, lagging their fingers together, and pulled him along with her as she ran towards the end of the long tunnel leading down to the Underworld. Blue looked on from behind, astonished. The moment the sunlight touched her skin, she thought she might cry with joy, throwing off her cloak and twirling around like a girl. The news that she was coming had apparently worked its magic on her mother- the earth was green.

Rumpelstiltskin smiled sadly- if Belle was beautiful on a normal day, her happiness made her as radiant as a star, but it pained him to know that he had been the one to cause her misery. He made a soft sound of surprise when Belle launched herself into his arms out of sheer joy, giggling and smiling, but pulled her into a warm embrace all the same, pressing a sift kiss to her forehead as she smiled against his throat.

If it was possible for Blue to look any more confused, she did, but to her credit did not say anything.

Once above ground, the journey to Olympus was short and easy. What wasn't going to be easy was facing the rest of the Olympians, especially-  
"Belle!" Maura jumped up from her place at the long table and ran towards her daughter, pulling her into a hug that was almost uncomfortably tight. "Oh, sweetheart, how I've missed you!" Belle hugged her mother gently, trying to soothe her.

"And you-" Maura suddenly broke away from Belle, placing herself between her daughter and Rumpelstiltskin and pointing an accusing finger at the Dark One. "You dirty, cowardly, demon! If you think for one second that you can steal my daughter away from me and get away with it-"

"Actually," Rumpelstiltskin said, attempting not to smile for Belle's sake alone, "I believe there's something my _wife_ and I would like to discuss with you." The entire council of Olympians fell dead silent. Belle stepped out from behind her mother slowly, walking over to stand beside him in front of the council.

"Is this true?" James asked, seeming to speak for the entire group.

"Yes," Belle nodded. "And I love him." She took Rumpelstiltskin's hand as she spoke.

"You couldn't possibly love a monster like him!" Maura cried, disbelief written plain on her face. "Just come home, and it'll be like all this never happened-"

"No, mother!" Belle kept her voice steady with great effort. "You don't get to decide who I love or how I feel- _I_ do. I love you, but I'm not a child any longer, and Rumpelstiltskin is my _husband_." It hurt almost as much to say those words as it did to see her mother's face fall.

"So you're leaving me."

"We're making a deal," Belle let go of Rumpelstiltskin's hand in order to approach her mother and the council. "While I was in the Underworld, I ate six pomegranate seeds… one for each month of the year I plan to stay with my husband."

A murmur went through the room.

Even the marriage between Belle and the Dark One may not have been enough to stop the council from taking her away from the Underworld on a permanent basis, and she was smart enough to realize that. However, if a living being ate or drank the food of the Underworld, they were sentenced to remain there forever. Belle had called their bluff. She _couldn't_ remain in the underworld forever- the earth would perish if she did- but since she had eaten the food there, the council could not technically take her away.

"What are you proposing?" Snow asked, eyebrows raised.

"I'll spend half the year here, with my mother and the rest of Olympus, and half the year with my husband. Take it or leave it, but if you choose to walk away from my offer then you can guess what my decision will be."  
James seemed to deliberate over this.

"It seems that we don't have any other choice but to accept."

"What?!" Maura screeched, incredulous.

"Your six months above ground begins now. We need time to teach the people how to handle the cold that is undoubtedly coming," James continued, attempting to ignore the woman yelling in his ear, "Say your goodbyes."  
Belle turned to her husband slowly, cradling his face in her hands.

"Six months. You can live without me for that long, can't you?" she whispered.

"Only if it means you'll come back to me." He kissed her fiercely for one long moment before turning and walking down from Olympus without a parting glance.

X

At the end of the six months, Maura walked her daughter to the entrance to the Underworld. Belle's hair was pinned up rather than hanging freely down her back, and she didn't wear white dresses any longer. The leaves were already beginning to change color, staining the forests with reds and oranges, falling off one by one and turning to brown, and then to dust.

Rumpelstiltskin was waiting for her, waiting for them to say their peace.

"Goodbye, my daughter," Maura said, hugging her one last time before she left. Six months may not have been long in the grand scheme, especially not in the life of a goddess, but it is an eternity for a mother waiting on her child.

"I will see you soon, mother," Belle said, doing her best to smile.

"Soon." Maura reluctantly dropped her hands, and Belle turned to walk to her husband. He met her with a warm embrace and a soft kiss, slipping an arm around her waist to lead her back into his world, the world that so much of her now belonged to.

For that is the way of the world, the cycle of our existence. That is the forbidden fruit and the knowledge that we cannot give back once it has been taken in. We are born and we die. We live because we must, and we go on because that is our highest duty as members of the grand class of beings that are _alive_. We live because we must, and we mark our beginnings and endings as the world turns and the seasons pass, and sometimes the endings and beginnings blur together until we cannot tell when things come to an end at all.

And Maura watched the child that was no longer a child walk into the shadows.


End file.
